General manager Doug Melvin told me today that both sides agreed to break off negotiations with left-hander Chris Capuano after the Brewers added Shaun Marcum and Zack Greinke to the starting rotation in recent weeks.

“Chris wants to be a starting pitcher and we don’t see a match at this time,” said Melvin. “We like Chris a lot but we both decided it was best he look elsewhere. I heard teams are showing interest.”

It was pretty easy to see this news coming after the Brewers signed Takashi Saito today, using the last open spot they had on the 40-man roster. Capuano’s made it clear he wants a chance to start, and he simply won’t get that opportunity in Milwaukee unless things go horribly wrong. Only one of Capuano and Narveson was going to make the roster, and the Narv Dog is younger, cheaper, and a better bet to be more effective as a starter.

If this is truly the end for Capuano in Milwaukee and he doesn’t return in the future, it’s at least been a good run. It’s easy to forget just how good he was in 2005 and 2006, and the fact that he was able to come back from another Tommy John surgery to pitch in the majors again is also a major feat. He’ll probably find work out there somewhere — who knows, maybe Melvin will tell him to give Jack Zduriencik a call and a job will be open in Seattle. No one should be upset with the organization about how this relationship ended, though — there aren’t many clubs out there that would have paid for his rehab like the Brewers did. This is just a matter of there being 5 or 6 other starters on the roster that will likely perform better.